Ticket to ride

MINISTERS and Members of Parliament are perpetually in a state of being temporary. Their entrance to the Parliament is restricted by passes issued for parking their vehicles. The 15th Lok Sabha had 15 sessions in five years. The MPs never faced any problem in entering the house. So, the Parliament Security was in a fix whether to issue the car passes for the current year to the present MPs or not. Technically, the term of the Parliament is over after the second session. In such a scenario, if the Parliament Security issues the passes for 2014 to the current MPs and they do not win seats in the forthcoming elections, how can the security stop their entry. Parliament Security were finally able to get a solution as the new Prime Minister has to be elected on or before May 21, 2014 and the results of the 16th Lok Sabha will be finalised by May 15, 2014. After calculating the dates, Parliament Security officials have issued car passes to the sitting MPs which are valid till May 15, 2014. The happiest lot are the ex-MPs, who have got their yearly pass on time. There are ex-MPs who have been voted out for the last 30 years but are still entitled to an entry whereas the senior officials who are working in the Parliament for last 30 years are not allowed with their personal vehicles; they have to park in Parliament Annexe.